Transit project hits rough patch

A proposed project that would connect the county transit departments of Northeast Ohio will go forward, although probably more slowly, after project proponents received word this week that the Federal Transportation Administration will not be granting $1.7 million to fund the project's development.

"We didn't get the main funding, but the state of Ohio has been very supportive," said Brian Smith, director of planning for the Portage Area Transportation Authority.

"We will move forward with Plan B," Smith said. "We just have to figure out what Plan B is."

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Transit officials from several Northeast Ohio counties have been working together for about 18 months to plan ways to coordinate their agencies, to allow riders to travel throughout the region easily by bus.

Kristina Fenselon Reider, director of the Geauga County Transit Department, told Geauga County commissioners last week that the project would allow riders to make one phone call to arrange for transportation anywhere within Northeast Ohio.

Reider has previously said the project would make it much easier, for example, for Kent State University students to travel between the main and Geauga campuses.

Phase one, or the planning phase for the project, had been funded with a $2.1 million federal grant.

"But we weren't selected for phase two," Reider said.

Reider said that, although the announcement was disappointing, she believes the project is far from dead.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has been very supportive of the regionalization concept, she said.

"ODOT gave us $180,000 towards this project," Reider said. "Although we didn't receive the funding on the federal end, on the positive side, won't it be great to do it without the federal money?"

"This is not dead," she told commissioners. "It's not what we'd hoped for, but we're not giving up. We've worked so hard, we certainly don't want to give up on it now."

Smith, who is spearheading the project, said he hasn't had a chance to discuss the news with other departments. A conference call scheduled for Thursday had to be canceled because of illness.

He said he plans to reschedule the conference call as soon as possible.

"We want to at least continue to explore other sources of income," Smith said. "We're still in the stages of 'What are we gonna do next?' "